UDI makes urgent call to address supply shortage

The acute shortage of family-friendly townhomes must be addressed by governments says the Urban Development Institute.

UDI’s Pacific Region says that at the end of the third quarter there was just one new, move-in-ready townhome in Vancouver and just 14 in the Metro.

From the peak of 11,090 units at the start of 2013, total new unsold multifamily homes for purchase including apartments and townhomes are down 84%.

“Our industry wants to build more multi-family homes for all budgets across Metro Vancouver. The biggest obstacles are still municipal permitting delays, which can take years, and single-family zoning, restricting 85% of residential land,” said UDI President & CEO Anne McMullin.

She said that a regional housing/transit strategy is needed now to address current need and the expected federal immigration target of 13% annual rise.

“So let’s work together to start building more affordable housing today! If our industry is permitted to build an apartment that allows enough market units to rent or buy, these could subsidize many social housing units in the same project, at little cost to government,” McMullin added.

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